PMD: Ripples of Consequence
by PatheticallyKingly
Summary: If you told me a year ago that I'd be fighting for my life in a crazy, disrupted world, I would have probably not believed you. Yet here we are: dying...or something like it. It didn't have to go this far. It could've ended before we reached this breaking point. But now...now we're already here. There is no choice, no future; just the consequences that our actions have reaped.
1. Chapter 1

**Ripples of Consequence**

**Oho~! 'Bout time I finally started this. As you people can see, this is a brand new fanfic completely produced in the deep, dark bowels of my mind!**

**...Well, they're not that deep or dark. Kinda bouncy though! **

**Back to the topic at hand, this is a Pokemon Mystery Dungeon fic. No, it's not another rehash of the Explorers series. It is one hundred percent made up by me! The region, town, even the chocolate! Which you guys will metaphorically get if you review this...but enough of my inane rant, here's the story! Lawyer! Do the disclaimer!**

**L: ArchShadow doesn't own Pokemon. If he did, the manga would be the anime, and the current anime would never have existed.**

**~X~**

Chapter Zero: Prologue

_Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock_

Funny thing about time: You can watch it go by, but you can never hope to grasp it. T'is why we humans always make our decisions with haste; we'll never know if we'll be able to choose again. But one of the things we don't think about in our haste are the consequences. Yet we'll gladly accept them when the time comes to meet them.

I've always wondered why that is.

Why do we accept them so readily. Is it because we were happy with the choice we made that lead to them? Or is it simply because we have no other choice but to accept them? I honestly don't know...

But then again, I'm not entirely human anymore either.

_Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock._

Damn that clock. It's all I've been able to hear ever since _**they**_ threw me in this stupid cell. Well, that and the mutterings of that insufferable hariyama they assigned to keep watch over me. If only I didn't have these chains bound to my arms...

"Hey! Quit rattling those chains!"

I couldn't stop the annoyed sigh that passed my lips. _Damn...that's only going to piss off muscle head even more..._ I grinned my best cheshire grin when the big lug turned around to glare at me, not that he could see it in the darkness. _Eh, it's what I was aiming for anyway._

He harumphed as he leaned against the stone wall of the dungeon. Even though it was the dead of night, I could see the mocking grin plastered on his face. Just one of the benefits of being half-zoroark, I suppose.

He laughed a belly like laugh. "I don't know what you did, but it must of really pissed off Lady Viri."

I shook my head and laughed, a melancholic sound instead of the usual happy tone it used to possess. "You have no idea..." I stood up, using the limited movement of my arms to brush the grime off my pant legs. "You though...I haven't seen you around the Citadel. Who are you?"

A shit eating grin lit up his face as he stood up straight, pointing a thumb to his chest. "I'm Oro of the Hitmon Brothers Mercenary Guild. Your guild mistress hired us to keep guard over you. Said something about how you have too close of bonds with the pokemon here..."

"You're damn right I do!" I couldn't stop the break in my voice. To think that it all had to end up like this...it hurt to think about it.

He shook his head and crossed his arms. "I already had to toss away those two mice that showed up. Not to mention those other rookies..."

My heart stung as my face fell, my red and black tresses shading my eyes in the darkness. _Lawrence...Agitha...I'm sorry..._

"There was also one particularly feisty lucario that tried to get in. Crazy bitch nearly took my head off."

My lips twitched into a grin as I felt the first tears leave their home. _Even you...Lucy..._

The clouds surrounding the moon lifted, letting the first rays of moonlight shine through the barred window. I could finally see with light on how grim my surroundings actually were. The brick walls were damp, moss and lichen of sorts growing inbetween the creases. The iron bars that separated me from the rest of the world really couldn't even be considered iron, what with all the wear and tear that seemed to have afflicted them. Then my gaze finally rested on the sumo of a pokemon. And judging by the shocked stare he was giving me, it turns out that he didn't know what he was guarding in the the first place.

"W-what in Arceus' name are you?"

I sat back down, sighing as I rubbed around the iron cuffs on my wrist before smoothing the fabric of my sleeveless buttondown. "How about I start at the beginning. How it all went to hell...and how it all got better."

**~X~**

**Short prologue is short, I know. It'll just be easier to start the actual story this way.**

**So yeah, I finally got around to posting this. I've noticed a lot of PMD fics but not really any original stuff, so I hope you guys will stick with me! Updates will be a tad erratic though...**

**Anyway, tell me if you're even the slightest bit interested so far! Or if I should bury my laptop and chop off my fingers. It's you all's call. But to do that, you must first review, which I hope you'll do.**

**After this though, check out deadaleta's **La Noir Dans Lumiere**. She needs more readers for her awesomeness!**

**So review please! **


	2. Sweet Ambiguity

**Ripples of Consequence**

**So it seems my pitifully short prologue caught attention...That makes me all happy inside~! Thanks to all of you who have reviewed so far! If I could give you guys brownies, I would (They'd be double fudge~)!**

**I'm sure most of you have guessed that this chappy won't start directly after the next. Wouldn't be much of a story if it started out in the middle, now would it! But just in case some of you get confused, our real story starts out in Castelia City, Unova. I know what you all are thinking right now...**

**"What? He's starting off in the Game/Mangaverse rather than our world? BLASPHEMY!"**

**...Something along those lines, right? Well, I don't like cliches and I've seen that sort of beginning too many times to count (No offense to your story, deadaleta. Yours is still kickass~). So there'll be none of that here.**

**Before I forget to mention it, Agitha has a potty mouth. Word of warning to those of you who don't like cursing.**

**And here's Lawyer with the disclaimer.**

**L: ArchShadow does not own Pokemon. If he did, well...*shudders***

_Chapter Theme: Masquerade by Megurine Luka_

**~X~**

Chapter One: Sweet Ambiguity

Castelia City was a busy city. Its masses usually spent most of their time on the move, only stopping for the occasional coffee or Castelicone. Now, however, the city was quiet, the only people on the move being the ones that had business in the wee hours of the morning. Two of such people were moving leisurely to their rendevous, their breath showing in the chilly morning air.

"Lawrence," said the female of the two, "I swear if he's late again, I'm killing both of you." Her confident steps made clacking sounds on the reletively empty street, partially because she was wearing heels and partly because she was getting pissed. She pulled her long, brown coat tighter around her slim figure as she pushed a stray bit of her brown hair out of her vision, her green eyes narrowing. "It's too fuckin' cold to wait for him today!"

The shorter whitenette rolled his equally green optics, shoving his hands into his coat pockets. "Ever the eloquent one, aren't you sis?" He chuckled when she growled. "Listen Agitha, he's been having a rough week. Cut him some slack, will you?"

The brunette stopped, her heels making a defiant clack on the concrete ground as she did so. "Like I give two flying shits! I'm cold, so he-"

"So I what?"

Agitha squeaked as she stumbled toward her younger brother, her personal space being violated by the subject of the arguement. She glared at the ruby haired boy who seemed to appear out of nowhere. "You bastard! Were you following us this whole time?"

"Eh, maybe..."

Lawrence chuckled when he saw his friend's cobalt blue eyes light up in glee. "Honestly Leo, I don't understand why I even try to make excuses for you anymore..."

Leo gave him a fox like grin as the three fell into step. "Because you guys-" He was cut off as a certain pissed off brunette's heel made contact with his head.

The whitenette shook his head and sighed as he straightened his tie, walking along as if nothing had happened. "And that's why I try."

Agitha picked up her heel, but not before glaring at the fallen boy. "Stupid ass."

The red head managed a glare in his haze, but it was far from intimidating given his current position. "Bitch." He picked himself up and the three headed to their original destination, Leo staying on Lawrence's right side, far away from a grinning Agitha.

**~X~**

_Castelia Acadamy (Leo)_

Walking into the acadamy's dull entrance hall was nothing new. If anything, it was one of those things that I'd rather not do. I mean, what teenager wants to wake up at five o'clock in the morning just to walk to school in the freezing weather?

"Ah, I love mornings!"

...Except for Lawrence.

Agitha punched his arm. "Don't say stupid shit." She had taken off her coat, now choosing to hold it in her arms. She wore what every girl did in the acadamy: a white short sleeved blouse, knee length black skirt, and heeled shoes. Oh so deadly heeled shoes...

Lawrence and I wore the male alternative: white long sleeved buttondowns with red ties, black slacks, and black shoes. The school just required us to wear the uniform. How we wore it, however, was up to us. Lawrence, being the stickler for rules that he is, never does a thing to his. Whereas I like to be comfortable, so I roll my sleeves up to my elbows and keep my tie loose.

The first bell had yet to ring, so we walked slowly through the crowded halls. Well, crowded wouldn't be the word. Thanks to Agitha and her rather...**_abrasive_** nature, people tended to try to avoid bumping into her. This, in turn, provided a rather clear route for Lawrence and I. The fact that we all had the same homeroom just made traversing the halls in the morning that much easier.

I sped ahead of the two siblings, turning on my heel so I was walking while facing the both of them. "So, did you guys finish D-sensei's assignment last night?"

Lawrence's eyes seemed to sparkle as he nodded. "Yup~!"

I gave him a blank stare as I deadpanned, "You sound way too happy about that."

He shrugged. "I enjoy those assignments. They give me a sense of accomplishment, you know?"

This earned him another punch in the arm via Agitha. A shit eating grin spread across said brunette's face as she turned her abusive gaze toward me. "I'm guessing since you're asking, you didn't do it, did you."

I put my hands behind my head as I turned away, a small pout making its way onto my face.

And yes, I pout. Get the hell over it.

I turned my head toward them slightly, just enough to peak at them through the corner of my eye. "T'is only because that bastard gave me an impossible one. Where the hell am I supposed to find a freakin' zorua?"

Lawrence scratched the back of his head, finding the ceiling much more interesting than our conversation apparently. "Um actually...Mine was on pikachus and I still got more work done than was necessary..."

I tripped a little, but recovered. This was Lawrence we were talking about! He always does more than what needs to be done!

Agitha started to giggle. "Mine was on raichus and I finished as well."

Her giggle turned into a full on laugh as I fell to the floor, my inner shame finally getting to me. "Arceus damn it! It's not fair!"

Her laughing abruptly stopped and Lawrence's eyes widened. That could only mean one thing...

"Mr. Greyson, I shouldn't be the one to remind you that laying down in front of my classroom door is wrong."

Yeah, it was D-sensei. _Why Arcues? Why?_

D-sensei's real name was Drake Kagami. But since he absolutely despises being called Professor Kagami, everbody just calls him D-sensei. He looked to be in his late twenties, but he acted like such an old man. I guess that's why he's a professor of ancient history though. He too wore the male uniform; what made his different was the black lab coat he wore over it.

I picked myself up, meeting his icy blue eyes with a defiant glare. "I know that! I just tripped is all!"

He ran a hand through his black hair, not looking the least bit amused. "As you say. Now, if you and the Scifer sibling would please enter so we can start class?"

Agitha decided to pipe in. "But the bell hasn't even-"

_**Ding...Ding...Ding...**_

And there was the bell.

"You were saying, Ms. Scifer?"

Now, very few people can make our resident abuser quiet. Even fewer who can intimidate her. But D-sensei was one of those people who could shut up just about anybody. Don't know how exactly, he just does.

But needless to say, seeing Agitha contort her face to keep from glaring is quite a funny site. Even so, Lawrence and I were still too chickenshit to laugh; the fear of being hit with those weapons she called shoes being too great for us to face.

**~X~**

_Forty-five minutes later_

_...Must...stay...awake..._

"As we all know, Reshiram and Zekrom..."

_So...sleepy..._

"...Reshiram representing truth, while Zekrom represents ideals..."

I really didn't want to sleep in D-sensei's class, no matter how tired I was. No, it wasn't because I was a good student. Hell, it wasn't even the fact that Agitha would draw on me if I did. What I was really worried about were the nightmares.

Yes, I said nightmares.

It was a well known fact that whoever fell asleep in D-sensei's classroom were stricken with frightening night terrors. Nobody was sure how, but there was plenty of speculation. One theory suggested that he kept a darkrai hidden underneath his floorboards. Another claimed that his room was cursed. But there was one of the more wild ones that almost everybody liked to agree on:

That D-sensei was part darkrai.

I inwardly scoffed. Sure, human and pokemon relationships were legal, but there has never been a reported case of a _**legendary**_ mating with a human. The idea was highly unlikely, but sort of plausible. Either way, there's no way it could be true.

"Mr. Greyson?"

That brought me out of my reverie, and, thankfully, managed to wake me up. I yawned before answering. "Yeah, D-sensei?"

His eyes narrowed. Probably because I made that yawn obnoxious. "Would you like to tell me what we were just discussing?"

I felt the corners of my mouth tug upward slightly. "I do believe we were on the topic of Reshiram and Zekrom." _Ha! He probably thought I completely spaced out._

My happy thought quickly faded away as he grinned. A rare sight, that was. "Yes, we were. But now we're on the topic of Darkrai and Cresselia." His grin got even wider as he gestured toward the video screen in the front of the room. And sure enough, there was a picture of the two legendaries. "Pay closer attention next time, Mr. Greyson."

I frowned as some of the class fell into giggles, including a suddenly very giddy Agitha. I threw her a glare, but all I got was an even more intimidating one from her. I turned my attention away from her and decided to focus on the actual lesson. Which turned out to be done, as D-sensei shut off the video screen. He walked over and stood in front of his desk, leaning on it slightly.

"To end today's lesson, I want you all to...to..." He closed his eyes, rubbing his temples as he did so. "You know what, nevermind. Just turn in your reports on your way out." At that, the bell rang; the majority of the class rushing out the door.

I couldn't stop the concerned frown that started to crop up on my face at D-sensei's state. And what's more, my head started to hurt too. I brought my hand up to my forehead as a sudden flash of vertigo hit me. _What the...?_ I shook my head as I stood up, managing to shake the dizziness away. A majority of it, anyway.

I steadied myself, but not for lack of trying.

"Woah, you okay man?" Lawrence's voice held a tinge of worry, yet it sounded so far away at the same time.

"Yeah, you look like shit all of a sudden." Even Agitha's rude comment had some concern in it.

I put on a half-hearted grin, not wanting them to worry over me. "I'm fine, no worries! T'was probably just-" I was cut off, my body suddenly becoming much heavier as a piercing scream rent through the halls outside of the classroom. There were mixed cries of "Run!" and "Help!" and the occasional sound of metal being ripped away or a crash.

Lawrence turned around, a frantic look growing on his features. "D-sensei, what's..." He stopped. And with good reason too, if Agitha's widening eyes were any indication. "Professor...?"

D-sensei was leaning on his desk, one hand covering his eye. His breathing was labored and hollow sounding, his normally black hair now streaked with white. A dark purplish aura started to gather around him as he turned his feral gaze toward us. "Ms. Scifer and Mr's Scifer and Greyson..." his voice had become completely hollow his breathing significantly less labored, "I recommend for you three to run. Now."

However, any chances of that happening quickly became zero as the wall nearest to us imploded, debris catching us in its wake. Lawrence took a particularly nasty hit to the head, his white hair quickly becoming stained with red as he fell to the floor. Agitha wasn't much better, what with the new lacerations she was sporting across her abdomen and face. I myself found it hard to move from my position on the floor. Sure, I only got scratched by the initial implosion, but it felt as if a weight was pressing down on me from all sides. It's like something is just barely holding you down; like you can feel that if you just had a little more power, you'd be perfectly all right.

"Well, damn. That shot was just supposed to stun the three of you!"

The voice was surprisingly spritely, considering it almost killed us. And female too, by the sound of it. I couldn't make out the face, but at this point, I could barely register the feeling in my body. I tried to open my mouth to yell out for Lawrence and Agitha, if only to find out that they at least weren't dead. Not one word was able to pass my lips, however. _Damn it, I can't even talk! _I felt tears stinging in the corners of my eyes. _Please Arceus, please don't let them be dead!_

"A prayer to mother? Ha! Sorry hun, but the old bitch has been asleep for centuries!" The figure finally stepped fully into the ruined room. She was indeed female. She wore a silver gown, the hem reaching all the way to the ground, with two thick yellow stripes encirling her waist. Her long blond hair was bound into a ponytail by another thick yellow band and pink, cresent moon shaped earings hung from her small ears. One would think her beautiful, if not for the most terrifying thing about her.

Her eyes.

They were a light pink, seeming to sparkle with a madness that I've never seen before. In those eyes, I could see cruelty, bitterness, and hatred all wrapped up into one. And frankly, they scared the living hell out of me. That and the fact that she could read my mind made it all the worse.

"Leave the boy alone, Cresselia." That was D-sensei's voice, but I still couldn't move my head, no matter how hard I tried.

_...What?_ My mind was officially in overdrive. This crazy lady was supposed to be a legendary pokemon? How the hell could anyone possibly believe that? _Well, she did create a hole in the wall._

"Damn straight I did!"

I managed a scowl in my immobalized state. However, this only seemed to add to her amusement. She disappeared for a split second before reappearing on top of me, a perverted grin spreading across her face as she straddled my unmoving form. But before I could even think about a blush, she grabbed a fist full of my hair, forcefully yanking it along with my head to the right. "Look at your teacher, isn't he so much cuter in this form?"

I ignored her question, instead choosing to glare at her out of the corner of my eyes. _How about you get the hell off me, you bitch-cougar! _

For some reason, this made her grin turn into a full blown smile. "Oooo~! Darkie, this guy's got some sass! Can I let him and his friends play my game?"

D-sensei sighed. "I suppose so. It's all according to how you predicted it all those years ago anyway." He snorted, his voice taking on a slightly more somber tone. "Besides, even if I disagreed, you would do it anyway."

My eye lids started to feel heavier as their conversation went on, only bits and pieces getting through to my shutting down brain. One piece, however, rang through above all the rest.

"I'll be sure to reset this one. Can't be having him at _**her **_level straight out of the gate. What fun would that be~?"

**~X~**

**And there's the official chapter one. If you're confused, here's what's going on in the last part. **

**D-sensei was actually a darkrai. He just took on a more human form as to watch the ones teens Cresselia saw in her vision. Now, Cresselia may be stark raving mad in my fic, but D-sensei knows enough to know that her visions usually hold great importance. In Cresselia's mind, however, it's all just a big game.**

**We'll be seeing more of those two later. (Since I plan to pair them together XD)**

**Next time on Ripples of Consequence: "Of Citadels and Cliffs"**


	3. Of Citadels and Cliffs

**Ripples of Consequence**

**Now you've guys have gone and gotten me all blushy. I'm glad so many of you seem to like this little ole story of mine~! It means a lot to get your feedback! But please, do point out if I'm doing something that seems off; if something's broken, I'll want to fix it. If something is flat, I'll want to know so I can pump it up so full of air that it'll blow up in all of our faces! I implore you all for constructive criticism.**

**Now that my rant is out of the way, a recommendation~! We have a relatively new author here on FanFiction and his name is "Xinsert name hereX." I came across his little gem of a work when zombicidal-maniac sent me a PM(you should really go read his stuff, by the way). Go read "Everyone's a Critic." If you want another well done original PMD fic, go read his. Trust me, you'll want to follow him!**

**L, disclaimer please~!**

**L: ArchShadow does not own Pokemon. If he did, he'd use the enormous amounts of money he'd have to create a zoroark. 'Cause he wants one.**

**(On a slightly different note, all that up there was written a long time ago ^^; Sorry for my laziness!)**

_Chapter Song: Falldown by Hatsune Miku_

**~X~**

Chapter Two: Of Citadels and Cliffs

She always hated the rain. Not the water droplets, but the dark, gloomy clouds that released them. It made her feel like the world was as bad as other pokemon made it out to be. All dark things made her feel that way. Which was odd, considering she was supposed to have an advantage over the dark. All riolu and lucarios were. Yet she had a special hatred for it, one that boiled down to simple fear.

She snorted at the irony of her situation. Here she was, walking through the burned down forest on the outskirts of the Citadel in the rain. Thunder boomed as a streak of lightning lit up the sky but she didn't care. She stopped and looked over her shoulder at the large, stone tower looming in the distance, her face contorting in a look of indignant sadness as the wet ashes gathered around her feet.

_Damn trial_, she thought as she glared at the superstructure, _If it were anything but that, I would have passed no problem!_

She needed to get away from that place. She couldn't deal with her latest failure.

She resumed walking as the lightning flashed again, trying her best to hold back her frustration. She didn't care about the rain at that moment, she just wanted to get to that place. _Her _place.

After all, a riolu who is terrified of the dark does not live shame down lightly.

**~X~**

The small mouse pokemon wrinkled his nose as he fiddled with his black scarf, his yellow fur becoming matted in the rain as he and his partner stood in front of the shrouded passage.

The grey mosiac tiles under their feet were warm, seeming to cast off the icy droplets that rained down on them. The equally colored tower stood over them, its great height making the two pokemon feel even smaller than they actually were. Stone pillars stood to either side of them, indistinguishable, worn etchings of different pokemons' faces scrutinizing them.

"Sparky!" The small, fox like pokemon chirped, her voice light and airy even in the grim weather. "Let's do this another day. You'll catch a cold if you stay out here much longer!" Her features were laced with concern as she implored the pikachu to reason.

"Relax Sapphire," he looked down at the eevee with champion's grin, his brown eyes sparkling with glee, "We came here to join and I have no intention of waiting any longer. We're ready for this, I can feel it!"

"Then step forward, dearies!"

Both pokemon jumped in surprise, the rich english voice ringing out from the passage not being expected by either of them. Before either of them could say a word, two purple hands shot out from the abyss, one grabbing Sparky by his scarf, the other grabbing Sapphire by her abundance of neck scruff. The two were yanked into the dark, both their faces set in panic as they disappeared.

They struggled against their bonds, Sparky spamming thundershock in random places while Sapphire tried her best to wriggle out of the claws grasp, biting down hard on one of the slender appendages. However, both of them soon found the tile to be a much more unforgiving opponent as the claws let go, the owner yelping as it was hit with the electicity from Sparky's attacks. Both attempted to stand up, but the darkness combined with the stars floating around in their mind eyes didn't let them get far.

Sparky, having knocked his head on the ground, layed sprawled out, Sapphire not too far away.

A snapping sound resounded through the wide corridor. One by one, bluish-white flames lit themselves on the wicks on the walls. The haunter floating above the two juvenile pokemon smiled to herself as she picked them up, disappearing as the flames once again went out.

"Looks like the Citadel has some new recruits!"

**~X~**

Ya know, if I had to pick one thing that I hate most in the world, it'd probably be head pain. I'm not talking about those 'Oh, my head hurts,' type of pain. No, I'm talking about the 'HOLY FUCK! MY HEAD'S SPLIT OPEN AND ON FIRE,' type of pain.

I'll tell ya now: it's a real bitch.

Every single sound or movement just made it worse. Move a toe? Pain. Breathing? More pain. Rain pounding your entire body and the world around you?

A living hell.

So I just layed there, cringing in pain as the world laughed at my misfortune. Whatever the crazy cresselia bitch cougar did to me, it was just plain cruel. I don't know _what_ she did, but it must of been pretty damn invasive. Everything just felt...weird. Pain excluded, of course. Nothing weird about pain.

I really didn't want to see how it would feel to open my eyes. If trying to move a toe caused my head to split, I would rather not have it burst into flames from blinking too hard. Maybe the rain would put it out?

"Hey! Get...of...!"

_Oh Arceus..._ And so starts my brain fire.

Wet, fast footsteps quickly approached my spot. Rather than looking or moving, I chose to wallow in my pain some more.

Terrible choice on my part, that was.

A swift kick to my side sent me flying from my spot. My eyes snapped open as a numb feeling spread throughout my body, the world around me flying by while I hurtled through the air. During that time, I got an eye full of what seemed to be a hell of a lot of burned down trees. And also rocks; lots and lots of rocks. I quickly became intimate with said rocks as gravity decided to play matchmaker, giving me a full on shale kiss with the ground. Oddly enough, that kick seemed to have taken away a majority of the head pain I had. Sure it had replaced it with bodily harm, but I could deal with that a whole lot better than an inferno in my brain. Even so, random kicks to helpless people shouldn't go unpunished.

I stood up on...all fours? _The hell? _I looked down, realizing just how much closer to the ground I actually was. I mean, I wasn't the tallest guy around, but...this? My face was litterally a foot from the shale ground. I don't even know where to begin with the red furry appendages that had taken the place of my hands and feet.

"I said, GET OUT OF HERE!"

"Wha-?" I was cut off as another kick made contact with my face, sending me skidding across the ground in the direction I just came from. I wobbled back onto my feet, spitting blood out of my mouth as I attempted to keep my balance. As the rain let up, I looked over my shoulder (or should I say haunch). The long fall cliff behind me didn't provide much of an exit choice. 'twas a shame too, the sun setting through the clouds at that time was a beautiful sight from there. I looked back to the pissy riolu, not really worrying about the whole 'talking pokmon' factor at that moment. She, from what I could assume from her voice anyway, didn't look very happy at all. The cold glare she was giving me was proof enough of that.

"I don't know what a zorua is doing here," she stood to the side and pointed back toward the burned woods, "but your kind don't deserve to be in this place." Her voice was acutally quite attractive. The hard edge she was forcing and leer she was giving me significantly less so.

I chuckled a little. "Well now, you really-"

"You have five seconds before I force palm your dark type ass."

"...Fair enough." I quickly trotted passed her, not wanting to chance what a force palm felt like. As I approached the boundry between the cliffs and the forest, I looked back, meeting her cold glare with a playful smile. "Good to meet you, Miss~!" Seeing that glare break into a confused blush was all the revenge I needed at that moment. _Heh, smiling really does confuse people!_ I bailed out into the woods, wanting to find a place to sort my mess out without having a bipolar riolu girl beating the crap out of me.

**~X~**

**Ehehe...^^;**

**I know it's not much, especially after the long ass wait I put you guys through, but bear with me. I said the updates would be erratic after all.**

**First off, I had to enlist some authors for OC teams for this. Rather than risk a random OC submission, I contacted authors I know who are great. They are as follows:**

**The Perfect Crime Party- Team Fenrir (You met them this chapter, actually)**

**Zombicidal-Maniac- Team Shinzu **

**Romantic-Flights- Team Rock-it**

**deadaleta- Special OC (You'll find out soon enough ;D )**

**And since it's uber late that I'm submitting this, I'll bid you all adieu for now. Please give me your feedback on what I can improve on for future chappies. Any piece of criticism would be appreciated~!**


	4. Transition

**Ripples of Consequence**

**So, I'm going to start keeping the author's notes a tad bit shorter. Looking back, I see a whole lot of bold font writing and not enough story. Sorry 'bout that. ^^; **

**I will, however, thank my reviewers. You guys are awesome~! :D**

**L: ArchShadow does not own Pokemon. What he does own is really not worth mentioning. As a side note, if you don't like Shadow-sama's opinions (such as ones referring to his hate of the Pokemon anime) then all of us here at Shadow Asylum please ask you to shut up and don't tell him what to do. His opinion is his own and you are in no way required to agree with him.**

_***Lookin' at you, Anonymous Guest. Lookin' at you.***_

_Chapter Song: Toxicity by System of a Down_

**~X~**

****Chapter Three: Transition

I used to hate crowds. Not because I was antisocial or anything like that, but because you just can't really feel comfortable. Ya know, with the bumping, the noise, and let's not forget Mr. 'I'm too good for speed, diets, and showers.' Then there's the obnoxiously loud girl that thinks the whole world should know what her conversation on the phone is about. Don't even get me started on those damn pick pockets either.

Pretty obivious that most people piss me off, but that's not the point. The point is: I'd give my next meal to have another person with me right now, deodorant and honor be damned!

Walking in this charred forest, daylight or no, was just plain creepy. The afternoon sun lit up the blackened trees with a sort of orange glow while a soft breeze occaisionally whistled through their branches. That whistle being the only sound in the dead world my new paws were now walking me through. I know I should have a more exuberant reaction to the whole "Human transformed to pokemon" thing, yet I was oddly content with just going with the flow.

Albeit, that flow was being too scared shitless to say a word. But hey, it was better than screaming "OMG! I BE A BOSS NOW!"

_**Snap!**_

I stopped dead in my tracks, the wind silencing as the sound of snapping twigs and hurried footsteps got closer. As I looked up, my vision was filled with purple. I felt a something solid touch my head for the slightest moment before it pushed off, sending my face to kiss the ground for the second time today. As the obnoxious laughter from the mysterious jumper faded behind me, I stood back up, spitting the various pieces of ash and wood out of my mouth.

_Was I just used as a- HOLY SHIT!_ I ducked (As well as a four legged pokemon could duck, that is) as several shards of ice flew over head, some impaling themeselves in the blackened trees while others flew after the speeding purple blur. The air seemed to become colder as the charred stumps and logs surrounding me gathered a frost. When the ground started rumbling, causing several already leaning trees to fall, I decided it would be best to get out of dodge.

Or at least, I would have, had it not been for the big ass rhydon that popped out of nowhere picking me up off the ground by the scruff of my neck. I sighed forlornly, getting tired of my miniscule size very quickly. _I swear to Arceus, when I find that cresselia-HOLY CRAP! TOO CLOSE! TOO CLOSE! _The rhydon had lifted me up to its eye level, its drill like horn way too close to my face for comfort.

"And just what is a dark type like yourself doing in a place like this?"

I felt some of the life threatening tension ease away slightly, seeing the genuine curiosity written across his (from what I could assume from his voice, anyway) face playing quite a big part in that. Not only that, but his voice held a sort of child like quality to it. _That's...surprising..._ I contemplated an answer, bringing up a paw to my chin subconsciously out of habit. _Let's see, can't tell him I used to be human; he'd probably throw me in a crazy house or somethin'. Can't get away either, not without tearing that part of my neck he's holding. Hm..._

He grunted, setting me down on his shoulder as he began lumbering ahead. "Too long. I'll just take you back to the Citadel with me after we catch this outlaw." He laughed a little. "Dagan does love his interrogations."

I gulped, a shiver running down my spine at the thought of being 'interrogated' by this mystery pokemon. That name sounded extremely intimidating, as well. "Eh...are you referring to me being interrogated? Or the outlaw?" I kept looking between his head and the way ahead, not wanting to get smacked off my perch by a branch. The frost seemed to extend much farther ahead of us, meaing that the pokemon that shot the ice shard was probably hot on that accursed purple blur's heels. "Also, if ya don't mind me askin' , what's your name, sir?"

I know what you're thinking. Something along the lines of 'Oh, he's not worried about this guy either?' or 'What a jackass! First he doesn't react to being transformed into a pokemon and now this?' Well, as you may have been able to tell so far, shit like that doesn't bother me. I just wanted answers.

I had expected many reactions from my question, none of them good, so you can imagine my surprise when the once stoic rhydon burst into uproarious laughter. "I like you, kid! Most folks just just beg me not to hurt them by this point, as hurtful as that sounds." My eyes widened slightly. _Did he just sound...sad?_ "My name's Kael, proud memeber of Team Shinzu!" He winked at me as he calmed down. "And I was pullin' your tail when I mentioned the interrogation."

It took a minute for my mind to process that. The only thing that brought me out of it was when the big lug ran into a tree, not even noticing as it fell down. _T-this guy can't be for real, can he? _Regardless of what my brain was saying, I threw on a half-hearted grin, a nervous chuckle escaping my muzzle. "Ehehe...okay. My name is-"

"Back up, you ice queen, or this little girl gets it!

That...was when things started getting complicated.

**~X~**

**Lawrence (Location: North of Citadel Tower)**

Mountain Sanctuary was, as the name implies, located in the mountains a few miles north of the Citadel. The setting sun bathed the stone structures and hot springs in twilight, it's inhabitants trying their best to finish their individual business before the mountain was encased in icy darkness. The air was decidingly more crisp and cold than the surrounding areas; the mountain itself seeming to always be encased in a light mist. Indeed, the Sanctuary was a place of peace and tranquility.

"SWEET MOTHER OF ARCEUS! WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?"

At least, it was...

A majority of the pokemon citizens were to busy to notice the oddly colored sneasel and its sudden outburst. Many because of their scorn for dark types, others because they thought he may have just had one Gummi Beer too many. Whether it be scorn or drunken misconceptions, both were very far from the actual case.

The white furred sneasel stared at his claws in horror. "Oh no, no, no, no, no, NO! This can't be happening! This can't be real!" The frightened, now pokefied Lawrence flexed his claws, his green eyes analyzing every movement. He felt almost...amazed, transfixed even by the sheer wonder of it all. That, however, didn't last long. He jumped to his feet, repeating his mantra of 'Noes' and 'This can't be happening's as he paced back and forth. This didn't serve well to keep his incognito level down though.

Several mienshao, the dominant species occupying the arid mountain, stopped to see just what the strange weasel pokemon would do next. They were disappointed though, as the sneasel just kept pacing and muttering inconsistencies. All dispersed except for one mienfoo. She was considered quirky for her species, as the ever present frown on most of her kind was literally non-existant on her visage. Her ever curious, slightly dopey gaze remained glued to albino dark-ice type, even when he flew into hysterics.

Lawrence threw his claws into the air as he fell back, a small dirt cloud gathering around him as he landed on the surprisingly soft ground. He stared up at the orange sky, his brain fried from over thinking his situation. "I...I give up." It was a conundrum he just couldn't figure out. He brought his right claw in front of his face, his green eyes once again searching for answers. "I just don't understand..."

Seeing that he'd moderately calmed down, the small martial arts pokemon casually strolled over to the confused sneasel. She peeked her head over his, to where she was looking at his face at a topsy-turvy angle.

"'scuse me, but are you okay?" Her innocent voice would've melted even the coldest of hearts, but that was not the case here.

Lawrence's eyes widened, his mind suddenly going into overdrive again as it began to process that a pokemon had just talked to him. Of course, that also triggered his 'Flight or Fight' response, of which his instincts told him to take flight. He quickly maneuvered his his way back onto his feet, backing up rather quickly. Albeit, he tripped over his own two feet halfway through, not being used to his new body and reflexes just quite yet. He fell back onto his rump, pointing an accusatory claw at the mienfoo. "You! You talked! And you're a pokemon!"

She giggled, a bright, melodious sound, as she skipped closer to him. "Mhm, so did you. And you're a sneasel! I've never seen one of your kind around here before!" She bent down, her face eye level with his. "My name is Saki, what's yours?"

Lawrence was hesitant, especially when the acclaimed Saki wasn't letting up with her stare. He turned his head away, the constant eye contact slightly unnerving him. "L-Lawrence."

She squealed in happiness as she grabbed on to his claws, yanking the unsuspecting sneasel to his feet. "Well, Mr. Lawrence, I've got a proposition for you!"

As Saki launched into her declaration, Lawrence's mind was still reeling with questions. However, something in him was content with whatever it was the eccentric mienfoo was trying to convince him of. He felt that maybe, just this once, he should simply 'go with the flow.'

_...Damn it, Leo's rubbing off on me now._

**~X~**

**Leonard (Location: South of Citadel Tower, The Sakura Overlook)**

"Back up, you ice queen, or this little girl gets it!"

Now, I've gotta say, I did not expect that I'd end up back here. Nor did I expect that the same riolu girl from before that had kicked my ass would be in the clutches of one sinister looking toxicroak. The Jhoto stand-off* between said toxicroak and one very pissed off looking froslass was another unexpected thing as well. The scenery from before had also changed. The setting sun was in its death throes, it's light just barely poking out from over the sea of sakura trees (of which I would've found beautiful, had it not been for the current predicament). There were also signs of what seemed to be a very intense battle. Several pieces of ice were scattered across the cliffside, along with the occaisonal scorch mark from what I could only assume were from shadow balls.

The toxicroak didn't seem to be fairing quite well, what with various pieces of ice protruding from his torso and shoulders. His knees also seemed to be quite shaky; each breath he took seemed to only make them shake more. A more alarming sight was the riolu he held in his arms. She seemed to be knocked out, but that didn't stop the sleezy toad from hold a glowing purple claw (I think it's a claw, anyway) pointed right toward her neck.

Kael stayed just behind the tree line, staring intently at the trio of pokemon. His eyes shifted from the froslass to the toxicroak and then back to the froslass, his gaze seeming to get more and more focused as his eyes shifted back and forth. "...This is bad. Alice won't be able to do anything while he's holding onto a hostage." I was about to add my two pokeyen but the froslass, whom I could only assume was Alice, began to speak.

She put her hands out in a disarming manner. "Now listen, Vex, this would be a lot easier if you'd only put the girl down. Nobody else has to get hurt today."

The toxicroak, who I could only assume was Vex, let burst out into insane giggles, his eyes becoming considerably more narrow as he stepped back, becoming dangerously close to the cliff's edge. "That's easy for _you _to say, you ice hearted harpy!" His speech was frantic and nervous, but still slightly eloquent sounding. "You're not the one that's going to be facing the Gallows after all is said and done!"

Alice floated slightly closer, an action that went unnoticed by the distraught toxicroak. "Now, now. Nobody said anything about-"

"Don't give me that shit!" His voice broke, his shaking becoming much more severe. "We both know that a guild can only keep the same prisoner for only so long. After a certain number of times, those church freaks come in and take the unlucky bastard to the dead man's knot! I refuse to go out that way! I just can't!"

It was at that point that I saw that it wasn't just Vex shaking. The riolu from before was also awake and she seemed to be shaking even harder than her captor. As the stalemate continued, along with the toxicroak's rant, I realized that we'd be there all night if things kept on as they were. _Hm...they don't seem to have noticed us..._ Two and two quickly clicked together in my mind. The perfect vantage point for my incredibly reckless, stupid, yet brilliant plan.

"Hey Kael...how's your throwing arm?"

He broke his gaze from the conflict, his confused glance meeting my devilish grin. "I'd like to think it's pretty good, why?"

"Ah, no reason. Just got a little favor to ask is all."

Realization seemed to dawn on him as he quickly shook his head. "No, I'm not doing that. You're a civilian!"

I let out an irritated sigh. "What, you have a better idea?"

A triumphant smile lit up his face as he brought a clenched claw up to his chest. "As a matter of fact, I do! I'll just throw a tree at him."

I gave him a blank stare, wishing more than ever for hands so I could facepalm. "Yes, that could work as well, but what about the hostage?"

His smile creased into a frown, his triumph deflated. "Oh..."

"Listen," I implored, "I'm small, dark, and will probably fly quite fast. Look at our options." I paused, but he still looked unsure. "If it makes you feel any better, I'll join the guild and take full responsibility for my actions once all this is said and done." That got his attention, as he picked my up off his shoulder and held me like a ball.

He gave me one last look of resignation. "I hope you know what you're doing."

I gave a nervous chuckle. "Same here."

And with that, I found out what it was like to be pidove. I also found out that Kael was being extremely modest about his throwing power as I cleared the gap to Vex in what seemed like barely a second. He had barely enough time to widen his eyes before I bit down on the arm that held the claw to the riolu's neck. As soon as I was sure I had enough grip, I put all my power into my jaws, causing the already unstable toxicroak to drop the bipolar aura user and begin to flail his arms in a attempt to throw me off the cliff, all the while trying to stab me with his other claw that was cloaked in that deadly purple glow. I threw a glare at the riolu, as she was just sitting there, staring bewildered. "WHARF TA HAR ER YAH ERIN? MRMPH!"_ WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING? RUN! _She seemed to pick up on at least half of what I meant to say. She gave a slight nod of her head as she stood up and ran, but not before Mr. Hysterics finally landed a shot on me, his claw sinking deep into my midriff, causing me to yelp in pain. That was all the time he needed to sling me off of his arm, and right into the fleeing riolu. I collided with her, sending us both into a piling heap.

"Dagan, do it now!" Alice yelled.

As the words left her mouth, a rather sizable bone came flying out from the charred trees. If Vex had been surprised before, then he must've been in utter disbelief as the bone crashed into his head, sending him into the world of slumber. I untangled myself from still nameless riolu, standing up shakily.

My head was woozy, my vision blurry, and I was quite sure that I was losing feeling in my limbs. I coughed, blood that both belonged to me and the toxicroak landing on the ground in front of me. "Damn poison."

It was just becoming...so hard to breath. I couldn't even tell when I hit the ground. Even so, there was something that I was resolved to find out, even when the rest of Team Shinzu surrounded me and started talking. I looked toward the point of my curiosity, the riolu. "Excuse me, miss...I never quite caught your name." It came out so quietly, I wasn't even sure if she heard it. I could hear several voices, but I couldn't make out what they were saying. I felt myself be lifted as my eyelids became heavier, my senses duller.

"...Lucy. My name is Lucy."

I smiled, "Lucy...that's a nice name."

Then, my world went cold.

**~X~**

**Oh how I love writing cliffhangers~! :D**

**So, yeah, two months wait. I apologize for that. ^^; Fortunately, my jackass of a muse seems to have returned to me. And is making me get ideas at one o'clock in the morning when I should be sleeping to get ready for school the next morning...I miss summer already. DX As a fore thought, I'm going with full realism with this. That means, if a character gets stabbed or scratched by something sharp, their will be blood. In Leo's case, stabbed in the gut by a poison jab would put most normal people out of commission.**

**Also, I apologize to you, deadaleta. I had planned to put your OC in this chapter, but things just kinda carried themselves. Sorry! D:**

**And to you, zombicidal-maniac, I do hope I did Team Shinzu justice!**

**As per my usual rant, reviews and constructive criticism are very much welcome!**

**All that out of the way, so sayonara for now, folks!**


	5. Hospice Recollections and Lacrima Tears

**Not much ta say here...eh...disclaimer?**

**L: ArchShadow does not own Pokemon. The only thing he owns is his writing ability...which isn't saying much.**

_Chapter Song: Death and All His Friends by Coldplay_

**~X~**

Chapter Four: Of Hospice Recollections and Lacrima Tears

_"Do I look like I give a damn?"_

_The red haired man's eyes bore into the officer's. His cobalt orbs were filled with indignant rage, not even caring that he'd probably get in trouble later for what he was doing._

_The husky man didn't back down though, even with the ruby haired man's superior height. He got in his face, his pungent breath accenting every word. "You touch me, and your whole world goes crashing-hrnk!" His eyes nearly bulged out of his head as he fell down, the air being forcefully ejected from his lungs being too much for the middle aged man to handle._

_The ruby haired man put his balled fist back in his jacket pocket, an annoyed frown forming on his face. "Next time you go threatening my pokemon, make sure you get your story straight. Even a bidoof can tell that you're not actually a cop." He kicked the would be cop back on his side, plucking off the badge on his chest. "I mean, your badge is freakin' plastic." He cracked it in half and threw it back onto the dirty man. "Fuckin' moron."_

_"Zor..."_

_The ruby haired man's dark blue eyes hardened as he turned on his heel, taking brisk steps toward the confused, indigo shaded zorua, his face shaded in the street light's shadow. His breathing was slow as he approached, the mist his breath was making in the cold fall air evidence enough of that. An even colder wind blew through, causing the trees in the park around them to rustle. _

_"And you," his voice was monotone, his eyes holding a tired like annoyance in them, "I told you not to run off like that." He let out a long, way overdrawn yawn as he ran a hand through his mane of hair. "Do ya know how frantically I had to get dressed?"_

_"Z-zorua." The small, fox pokemon looked like it was close to crying. It turned its head down, hoping to hide its face from the disgruntled human in front of it. It expected to be admonished; hit, even. What it was not expecting, was being lifted up and stuffed into said human's jacket. The zorua looked up at the blue eyed, ruby haired man from inside his jacket, still slightly teary eyed. "Zor?"_

_As he stepped over the fat man, making sure to kick him again for good measure, he looked down at the shiny zorua, a warm grin on his face. "We're partners though. If you run away, I'll try my damnedest to find you. You get in trouble, I'll fight like an animal to protect you." He looked back up, the same warm grin still on his face. "Of course, I'll expect the same in return. Ya got that, Viri?_

**~X~**

**Leo (Kangaskhan Grand Hospice)**

"It's a miracle that this little one is still alive!"

"Such a large amount of poison…"

"How'd such a little thing not die from it yet?"

Alright, those didn't sound good. I don't know what they were so worried about though, I felt perfectly fine. Albeit, I didn't know who _they _were exactly; quite frankly, I didn't care either. I just wanted to go back to sleep. I mean, the bed they had me laying on was just too soft not to sleep longer on!

"Hm…he is a cute little thing, don't you agree Mal?"

_Eh…what?_

"You're so right, Tal! Usually we only have those large, burly, masculine guild members come in. This little guy is just too adorable~!"

Suddenly, the valley girl voices got really annoying. It's one thing to insult my size, but to discredit my manliness? How dare they! I won't stand for it!

"Oi, now listen-nrk!" Scratch that, standing is not an option. Not if I don't want my stomach to split open, that is. _The hell? What the…Oh…right…got stabbed by a toxicroak._

As it turns out, the bed I was laying on was just a bunch of very soft hay tied together in a mattress type fashion covered with a sheet; much more comfortable than my cot in my old apartment back in Castelia. The room itself, however, was a lot more modern. Honestly, the only thing whiter I've seen than that room was Lawrence's hair. Surprisingly barren though, discounting the two audino, that is. _Must be the nurses. _

One of the audino, who was wearing a round nurse's cap with a red cross on it, rushed to my bed side. "Hey now, don't move too much! You have to give the lacrima time to finish closing your wound." She gently batted me back down as she reached under the sheets, taking out a blue, glowing crystal. She regarded it carefully. "Hm, we'll need to replace these soon."

I regarded her with an inquisitive look. "Eh, excuse me, but what's a-"

"Relax Mal, we'll do it once we release this little guy." It was the other audino, the only thing different about her being that her nurse's cap had a blue cross on it instead. She walked beside her partner, leaning slightly on the side of the mattress as her cool gaze rested on me. "As for you, you're a strange one. Cute, but strange. Any other pokemon your size would've died within the hour with the amount of poison that was running through you. I still haven't decided whether it was dumb luck on your part or not." She brought up a…hand (I really don't know what to call audinos' appendages) to her round face, her brown tinted eyes fixated on me with a sort of suspicious curiosity.

The other audino, Mal, began to admonish her in a whispery tone. "Tal! He just woke up! Stop it with your silly questions." She made a shooing motion toward her with her hands.

Tal crossed her arms as she looked at her chipper counterpart, all the while still leaning on my bed side. "Mal, he doesn't even know what lacrima are." She gave me a sparing glance. "And yes, I knew you were going to ask that. It was written all over your face when Mal mentioned it."

I frowned at her as I crossed my paws in front of me. "Or you it could've been that you picked up on it when you cut me off, miss priss."

Her brow furrowed as she fixed a glare on me. "Now listen here you little-"

Mal suddenly stepped between us, a venomous glare on her face. "TALIA! Stop it now!" Her voice was surprisingly violent…and condescending.

My eyes widened as Tal backed down, a sort of pout on her face as she turned away. "Yes ma'am." And with that, she left out the sliding door that served as the entrance and exit of the room.

I honestly didn't know what to say. I mean, sure I was a little uncomfortable from the constant questioning that chick was pulling, but that response was quite a bit over the top. I was just going to tell her to mind her own business, to be honest. I gave the elder audino (at least, I assumed she was older) a disapproving glance, but she didn't seem to notice. "Wasn't that a little too mean?"

She turned back toward me, a ditzy smile plastered on her face. "Whatever do you mean?" Her eyes glinted as she turned away, shuffling her way over to a white cabinet situated in the center of the back wall. I narrowed my eyes as she opened it and began sifting through different boxes. "I didn't say anything that I wasn't justified in saying. She may be my friend, but she's still my subordinate." She turned around and let the door shut by itself, a blue glowing stone with a leather strap attached to it clutched in her hand. Her eyes grew darker, her atmosphere colder. "She must learn her place."

I could feel my face become blank. _Yeah…bitch be crazy._ I really wanted to leave. But honestly, I had no idea what to say in this kind of situation. I don't think I could say anything in that kind of situation, really.

I was struck out of my contemplations as I felt a thick strap go around my neck, the blue stone tapping against it as the schizophrenic audino fastened the clasp. It took me a while to process exactly what happened, but I soon found myself standing out in a hall, the red cross audino standing in the door way behind me. I quickly turned around to face her; saying I was surprised would be an understatement at this point. _How the hell did she do that?_ I gave her an incredulous look. "When did you-"

Her face lit up in a grin, her eyes flashing with a familiar glint. "You can keep that healing lacrima, call it a gift." She winked, causing my confusion to grow even more. "As long as you keep that lacrima on, your wound should heal up nicely and suppress the pain enough for you to get around. I officially release you from my care~!"

I blinked "But I don't even know-"

She stepped back, closing the sliding door before I could finish my question. I sighed, getting rather annoyed with having none of my questions answered. Was it really so hard to just listen to a human turned zorua in need? _Eh, on the brightside, at least my stomach doesn't hurt anymore._

…I just had to jinx myself, didn't I…

A condescending, male voice cut off my thoughts. "Move it, trash."

Okay, I was really getting tired of being addressed with negativity. I closed my eyes and let out an annoyed sigh. "And just what the hell did I do to you, asshole?"

Evidently, a lot of pokemon here like to talk with their kicks. As I waited for a rebuttal, I soon found my world turning black and white as a heavy impact connected with my bandaged midriff, sending me into the wall opposite of the sliding door. I coughed up blood as I hit the ground, squinting up at my attacker. I let out a snarky laugh despite my current position. But truthfully, it sounded more like a pained gargle. "So violent." _HOLY SHIT ON A MOTHER FUDGING SHIT IN HELL THAT HURT! …Shit…here come the tears._

My attacker was a gallade, and not a normal looking one either. The…whatever the elongated part on top of his head was called (a horn?), was missing entirely. There must have also been something wrong with his right eye, as he had a black eye patch over it with a golden snowflake like star design on it. The most odd thing about him though, was that he was wearing a white robe. _Since when do pokemon wear clothes?_

His piercing red eye glared down at me, contempt and cold indifference burning into my soul. Well, it would have if I actually gave a fuck about what he thought of me, anyway. And judging by the way his face contorted in fury, I assumed he could see it plain as day in the teary glare I was throwing back at him.

"I'll say it again, what the hell d-did I ever do to you, asshole?" Given my current circumstance, I probably should've just stayed quiet. Hell, I probably should've played the unconscious card, especially since I went into another coughing spasm after that comment, blood and tears all present. But ya know what, I was too annoyed to give a damn. That, and I was way too exhausted to make an attempt to filter what I was thinking before it came out of my mouth. Although, I quickly found out how much of a bad idea it actually was. The halls were empty, all the doors closed, and I was sure as hell that the schizo audino wasn't going to come to my rescue. _Eh, it's been a good run, life. You may have screwed me over on more than one occasion but-_

"What is going on here exactly?"

_OH THANK YOU ARCEUS! _

To my great joy, a very imposing kangaskhan lumbered her way down to where my one-sided showdown was going on. Continuing with the trend of not so normal looking pokemon, this kangaskhan didn't have a baby in her pouch. In fact, the only thing she had on her chest was a long, diagonal scar going from her right shoulder down to the middle of her left side. Her cold eyes traveled from the gallade to me before finally resting on the gallade, her brow furrowing. "Father Mikal, I should ask you not to abuse my patients."

He stepped back, cast me one last cyclops glare, and then bowed lowly to the kangaskhan. "My apologies, Madame Moira, I'll be on my way now."

As he walked past her, the kangaskhan (Moira, I presumed) put her claws on her hips and shook her head. "Boy, how long do you plan to lay there? That lacrima tied around your neck should have already nullified the pain." She snorted after that, attempting to hide a giggle. "And for Arceus' sake, wipe away those tears. They're unbecoming."

Still being a little bit wary of these 'lacrima' crystals everybody was talking about, I gingerly stood up on my paws, bringing one up to wipe the excess blood off my muzzle. "Hm, would ya look at that." I looked up at her and smiled, blinking away the last of my pain induced tears. "Thank you for that, miss. I don't know what I would've done if you hadn't stepped in."

She remained in her stance, a deadpan stare fixated on me. "Simple, he would've killed you."

I laughed, not believing what I was hearing. "Oh please, he may have been an ass, but-"

I suddenly found myself being lifted up by my bandages, the brightly lit hallway beginning to pass me by as Moira carried me. I looked up at her, confused. "Um…Moira, is it? What are you-

Once again, I was cut off by her serious tone. "Ignorant boy, you have no idea of the state of affairs. Before I send you out, I'll make sure you don't kill yourself trying to open a door."

Hm…doors must be quite dangerous then…

**~X~**

Kangaskhan Grand Hospice was in one of its rare quiet spells. There was nary a patient, excluding one poisoned zorua, and most of its employees were at their homes asleep for the night. The grand lobby, as the waiting room of the hospice was so fondly nicknamed, was quite a sight at that time though. A froslass floated in the center of the room, staring up absentmindedly at the full moon through the skylight while a disgruntled riolu sat in one of the many padded chairs that lined the walls. A worried rhydon paced back and forth across the room, his heavy steps slightly jarring the chairs with each round he made. A marowak, arguably the most normal of those present regardless of his aesthetic abnormality (a chipped off horn), tried his best to console the hulking rock pokemon.

"Kael, calm down. You heard the nurse, the little guy will be fine." The bone wearing pokemon's words were warm, his eyes cool. He leaned on his bone club like a cane as he let out a sigh. "Will you please be still? I fear if you stomp any harder, the whole hospital will fall on us." While he meant it as a joke, he was being half serious. Kael, while being basically a giant teddy bear, was known for his unintentional destructive habits.

However, this did little to alleviate the gentle giant's anxiety. He stopped his pacing, but his tail and right foot took up the slack, each tapping the ground with vigor. He brought up a claw to his face, doing a facepalm of sorts as he looked down. "I'm sorry, Dagan. It's just that…well, it's my fault he's in there! If I had only-"

Still leaning on his club, Dagan held up a claw. "Listen, under the circumstance, there really wasn't much else we could do. While it was amazingly stupid, any other way ran the risk of the hostage being killed along with the outlaw. In my book, it was a damn good plan." A scoff came from a certain emanation pokemon, but it went either unnoticed or ignored as Dagan continued. "That kid has the makings of good guild member. You said he promised he would join after this, right?" Again, he tried to divert Kael's attention to something different. However, he didn't expect a reaction from the sideline.

The riolu jumped off her chair, an indignant confusion darkening her features. "You'd let a dark type join your guild?" She strode her way over to the surprised marowak, but her body was still tense. "Why the hell would you do that?"

Kael looked up, somewhat confused. "Why wouldn't we?"

Lucy threw her paws up into the air, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Because he's a-"

"Because he's a dark type, right?"

The three quarreling pokemon turned their attention to the froslass, who was still staring up through the skylight. She idly twirled around to face them, her purple eyes twinkling with intelligence. "You're one of those pokemon who take everything that the Church of Arceus says to heart, aren't you." The way she said it made it seem more like a realization than an actual question. She brought one of her dainty hands to her chin. "That's a very narrow minded view, sweetie."

Lucy opened her mouth to say something, but Dagan beat her to it. He stood up straight and pointed his club at her. "Alice is right. If he hadn't distracted Vex, I would have never been able to get a clear shot."

Kael shrugged as he turned back to his inner contemplation. "I was going to throw a tree. It was his idea to be thrown to begin with. If only I had done something better…"

Lucy opened her mouth to say something, anything that could make the aforementioned zorua look like he had some hidden intent. Quite frankly, she had nothing. She was about to go brood in the corner again when Alice called out to her, a devilish smile lining up under her icy mask.

"I have a wonder though: if you're so adamant against dark types, why'd you tell him your name? Better yet, why come all the way here when you didn't have to?"

Lucy stopped in her tracks, wondering the same thing herself. The thought combined with her ingrained mannerisms clashed. She couldn't take all the thinking or the situation anymore. With an angered cry, she stomped out of the building, not turning back once.

Back in the grand lobby, Alice kept smiling as she crossed her arms and went back to staring at the moon through the skylight. Dagan shook his head and joined her, leaning on his club once again. "Who knew the leader of Team Shinzu was not only a master strategist on the battle field, but also in conversation."

She giggled. "You know me Dagan, always one to pick good teams."

Dagan looked from the moon to her, concern showing in his eyes. "You really think she'll team up with the little guy?"

However, Alice was once again lost in her little world. Dagan sighed as he pushed himself back over to Kael, a chuckle escaping his maw. "One thing's for sure: the guild will certainly get more interesting."

**~X~**

**Lawrence (The Outskirts of Citadel City)**

"…Yeah, uh huh."

"You still aren't believing me, aren't you."

Lawrence shook his head as he looked at the green stone in his claw. "It's not that I'm having a hard time believing it, it's that I'm having a hard time believing the mechanics."

Having traveled most of the evening, Lawrence and Saki had finally decided to make camp. Albeit, camp consisted of Saki producing a red stone out of her homemade satchel and making it light on fire, something that Lawrence was still bewildered about. The quirky mienfoo had spent the better half of an hour explaining to the albino sneasel how the crystals called 'lacrima' were what supplied their land with energies. Red being fire, blue being water, green being wind, and so on. While each color had their own elemental properties, they each had a sort of sub property as well. Such as blue lacrima's ability to heal or, in the case Saki was trying to explain to Lawrence, green lacrima's ability to suppress stress.

Saki laid back, putting her paws behind her head as she stared up at the moon. "I suppose you could call it magic." After a rather disgusted scoff from Lawrence, she giggled. "Or if that doesn't suit you fancy, you could also call it extremely concentrated aura."

As Lawrence fastened the leather bound green lacrima tightly around his left wrist, he stared at the tiny red stone that was producing their source of light and warmth. "So…why me?"

Saki didn't move as she continued to stare up at the sky. "What do you mean?"

The albino stood up abruptly, his face contorted in annoyance. "You know damn well what I mean. Why trust a stranger who you found on the side of the road? Why drag me all the way to this venture with you?"

The martial arts pokemon drew herself up into a seated position, leaning back ever so slightly as she smiled up at the annoyed human turned sneasel. "Because you're interesting."

Lawrence fell back in exasperation. "Why do I feel so familiar with this sort of situation."

Saki giggled once again as she laid back down, curling up into a ball as she got ready to sleep. "Just so interesting."

**~X~**

**And there's the chapter. Been a long time coming, I know. I apologize for that. I could try to explain how I've been terribly busy with school and such, but really, that'd be a lie. I'm sure that you've all noticed by now that I'm a very lazy writer. So, once again, I must bid you guys farewell. **

**Team Shinzu belongs to the always awesome zombicidal-maniac. (I do hope I got Dagan and Alice's personalities right.)**

**Remember guys, reviews and constructive criticism are always appreciated. **

**Note: I stole lacrima crystals from the manga/anime Fairy Tail.**


	6. A Touch of Illusions

**Guess what? I'm not dead! :D**

**I really have no excuse for this terribly long wait though. School combined with bouts of procrastination…but mainly procrastination. Hopefully, things will start to be closer in range…maybe.**

**But probably not. ^^;**

**Lawyer! Disclaimer please!**

**L: ArchShadow does not own Pokémon. Nor does he possess enough wit to come up with a proper quip here.**

_Chapter Song: Material World by Ritsu Namine_

**~X~**

Chapter Five: A Touch of Illusions

Have you ever had one of those days when you just didn't know what was going on; one of those days when you're told things and you're expected to just know what to do? Now, I think myself pretty worldly. Hell, when I met a pokehuman hybrid for the first time, I shook her hand…claw…thing like it was the most normal thing in the world. But what I was hearing from Madame Moira was kind of hard to swallow. Lacrima crystals? Church of Arceus? I had no idea what to make of them. However, the church sounded strangely familiar…but I decided to not think on it too much.

Moira's office was quite quaint. Rather than the antiseptic white that covered the walls outside, the room that she had unceremoniously carried me too was painted a dark red. However, the more I stared at the color, the brighter it seemed to be. That was the most striking thing though. Everything else was, in a word, Spartan. Two book shelves that reached to the grey tiled ceiling were each located in the back corners of the room, both stocked full with thin, leather bound books, and a large dark wood desk located in the center were all that took up space in the small area. There was also a black iron door centered in the black wall, but every time my eyes would stray to it, Moira would scoot her chair to block my gaze. I found that odd, but I figured it wouldn't do me any good to pry.

Moira was seated behind her desk, giving me a piercing stare. I swear those blizzard blue eyes of hers felt like they were trying to see my soul. 'Tis what it felt like anyway; my head was currently turned toward the window, as I was trying my hardest to decipher whether it was raining or not in the night. Honestly, it was way late, and I wasn't entirely sure how long my already drained mind could last. I yawned genuinely as I turned my drowsy gaze upon her, the darkness radiating from the window failing to keep my attention. "You really expect me to…" another yawn broke through at that point, a tired drawl taking over my voice, "…to take on all this info at this time of night, Madame?" My tone may have been inappropriate, but Arceus damn it, I had a long evening. While I may have been shocked, it took too much energy for me to give a damn.

She let out a giggle (a surprisingly soft sounding one for a pokémon of her size) as she leaned back in her chair. "I don't expect the full effect of what I just told you to hit you until tomorrow morning. So for now, just relax. I'll get my assistant to take you to a room."

I was about to respond, to tell her that if she didn't expect me to react til tomorrow, then why the hell did she tell me now instead of letting me get some sleep. But alas, the sliding door behind me opened, revealing a familiar, blue-crossed audino.

She walked briskly, her eyes not leaving the papers she was scanning through. "Madame, I was doing that brat's paperwork like you asked, but-"

Suddenly, I was awake.

I turned on a heel (theoretically, anyway. As a zorua, I just scrambled really fast to turn around). "Aw, I missed you too, Miss Talia." I felt a devilish grin grow as she let out an adorable 'eep' yell, dropping the papers she was holding in the process. I felt that grin come to full circle as her chocolate eyes drilled me with a burning glare. "And my name's Leo, by the way. Not brat." I may have sounded like an ass, but-

"You ass!" The embarrassment in her voice was oh so pungent.

Yup, mission accomplished.

She hurriedly gathered up the scattered papers, her round cheeks glowing red. Once she had that done, she brushed passed me and set the thin stack of papers on Moira's desk. "But," she began, the previous fiasco seemingly forgotten as she put on a more professional face, "we need his personal information."

Moira leaned back in her leather chair, resting her chin on her claw as she made a shooing motion with her other. "Well, don't tell me that. Your target's right there."

Talia stiffened, but that didn't stop her from doing what she was told. She slowly grabbed what seemed to be a clip board off of Moira's desk. She plucked the top paper off of the stack she placed earlier and clipped it onto it. In a motion akin to being repelled by a super magnet, she steadily reached for the quill next to it.

It didn't take a moron to guess what she was doing, Moira's unimpressed stare was proof enough of that. I sighed, feeling somewhat guilty. I mean, I hadn't exactly given her cause to be comfortable around me, and I was being sort of an ass before…

"Look," I started, "You don't have to-"

She whipped around, holding the newly inked quill and clip board in a secretary like manner. "Name?"

I didn't expect the curtness, but I suppose I deserved it. Still, 'twas in my nature to respond to such things accordingly. "Already told ya." I drawled, rolling my eyes to look off to the side.

She threw me a sparing glare as she violently scrawled on the paper. "Age?"

"Seventeen."

In hindsight, I really should've thought about that one before I blurted it out.

Moira's eyes widened slightly, but she quickly saved face. Talia, however, furrowed her brow in an unimpressed manner.

"Getting really tired of your shit, brat." She deadpanned, her tone practically saying 'you're lying.' She dropped her gaze back to her clipboard, letting out a tired sigh. "Fine, undisclosed then."

"Ehe…" I stuttered, "You see, it's just that-"

"Where are you from?"

She really wanted to get this over with…

I sighed inwardly as I stood up a little straighter. "Castelia City."

What, did you expect me to spew some nonsense about amnesia? Please, who would believe that?

She tipped her half-lidded gaze toward me, her quill scrawls mixing with the patter of rain on the window. _Oh? So it is raining… _"You're a long way from home, brat. What brings you all the way from the Central Capital?"

I felt a lump form in my stomach. "…Eh?"

Of all the reactions to that answer, I hadn't been expecting that one. Just what was going on? It had to be a coincidence, right? "Ah, yes, the Central Capital…" I literally had no idea what I was doing anymore. When I brazenly mentioned my actual city of origin, I thought she'd just write it off as me making up a story. "I'm…uh…" And then I remembered what I promised Kael. Truth be told, I planned to join that guild he mentioned anyway; the fact that it could help me make up a story without actually lying was just icing on the cake. I gulped, swallowing my hesitations. "I'm here to join a guild."

**~X~**

After about an hour of questioning, Moira had decided that they had enough information on me. Albeit, even she seemed to be getting annoyed with the roundabout and vague answers I was giving. It was a fair trade though. Those questions Tal kept asking me were getting just plain ridiculous. I mean, was my preferred mode of travel really that important for a hospital record? It was only after that I told them that I had no family or a guardian that they saw fit for the interview to end. Truth be told, I barely even remember half the questions Talia asked me.

Speaking of miss priss…

Turns out, she and the other red cross audino were Moira's direct underlings. She herself was relatively young (being eighteen), but she had told me that she had been working in the hospital ever since her mother had become a patient. However, that's all I could get out of her before she started to fill in more stuff on her clipboard. Even after she was done writing, she decided to ignore my existence all together. In an effort to clear the toxic silence between us, I decided to play the family card.

I looked toward her, trying to piece my words together. "So, what is your mom in here for?"

She kept her eyes forward as she started to walk at faster pace than me, clutching the clipboard in her right hand a bit tighter. That was her only response…but it didn't take a fool to understand that the topic of family bothered her a bit. I cringed inside a bit, knowing that that was probably strike two for me with her…or was it three?

I let out a defeated sigh as I swallowed what nonexistent pride I had. Usually, I don't care what people think of me, but I was partly to blame for the tension between the two of us. Not only did I get her yelled at by her self-proclaimed superior, I had also embarrassed her in front of her boss. I looked toward the ground, some semblance of shame coming over me. "Hey," I started, my voice becoming unexpectedly smooth and quiet. I'm usually not very good at this sort of thing. "I'm…I'm sorry for acting the way I did earlier. You helped me out, but I, as you've stated before, acted like a brat. So, for what it's worth coming from me, I truly am sorry."

She stopped, her hat shifting slightly to the side as she turned her head around to look at me out of the corner of her eye. When she saw (what I assumed to be) my pathetic state, she turned around all the way, her free hand on her hip and the clipboard clutched against her chest, her face contorted in a look of tired confusion. "You really are strange, you know that?"

I smiled. "So I've been told." Wait, why was I smiling?

She let out what sounded like a combination between a giggle and a sigh as she turned around and started walking again, but I could've sworn I saw some red on her cheeks…probably my imagination though. I quickly followed suit, not wanting to get lost.

"I've worked here for ten years." Her voice was a lot softer now, but still retained a form of curtness. "My mother died five years ago."

_Holy Arceus, did I just raise a flag? _I stiffened a bit, not knowing what to say. I mean, this was the girl that called me a liar and brat just moments ago! I felt my mouth fall agape; how was I supposed to react to that kind of situation? Say, 'Oh? I'm sorry for your loss?' That would've made me look like more of an idiot than she already thought I was.

"Ah, here we are."

She stopped in front of another sliding door, cutting off my inner quarrel and causing me to bump into her. She paid no mind, however, as she took her hat off and pulled out a yellow crystal. She put her hat back on and then turned to me, holding the little yellow rock out for me to see. "Yellow lacrima can hold electricity and form currents. In this way, it can also be used as a key of sorts." She pressed the lacrima against an indention in the center of the door, a small electric pulse coming out of it as the door slid open automatically. She slipped it back into her hat and went into the room, beckoning me to follow her. As I stepped in, the door closed, the only light in the room being a candle on the small night stand that was situated in between the two mattresses in the back of the room. "Of course, if you were really from the Central Capital, our world's most renowned city for lacrima usage, you would know that already." Her voice was still soft, but her eyes were just as accusing. She crossed her arms, her clipboard discarded on one of the beds. "Arceus knows why the Madame overlooked the holes in your story, but I don't. So tell me, how the hell does a seventeen year old zorua from the Central Capital not know what lacrima are? Or would you like to make up another story?"

_Well…shit. _

I kneaded my claws into the ground, a new nervous tick that I was slowly coming to have. I watched as they scratched against the white tile, my brain trying to come up with a suitable way to say what I had to say. There really was no getting around it at this point. So, I opened my mouth to start, but…

"Listen, I know you're not a bad pokemon. I'm good at telling these types of things."

_Miss priss strikes again!_

As Talia went on to explain her various investigative abilities on a pokémon and its character, my eye lids grew heavy. She had her chin up, her eyes closed as if she didn't have to look to know that I was paying attention (which I wasn't, by the way). So, I took the time to study her more closely. I had seen audinos in Castelia's pokémon center, but I had never interacted with one before. Her color scheme was slightly off, the normally pink parts being slightly purple. The feelers that I had noticed on Mal earlier were noticeably missing from her as well. And was that a faint scar going between her eyes…?

"Hey."

Ya know, I heard that audinos were supposed to be good healers as well. It's likely that she used heal pulse on me while I was out along with those strange stones…

"Brat?"

And now that I look at an audino up close they're oddly…"Cute."

"…Eh?!"

"Huh? What?" I noticed that Talia reeled back slightly, her face becoming a tad red as she raised her hands in front of her. I raised an eyebrow. "Are you alright, Miss Talia? Your face is turning redder than my hair." When her face faltered slightly, it hit me. "Ah, did I space out when you said something important?" I broke into a nervous laugh as she gave me a deadpan stare, her face still slightly red and her hat askew. "Heh, sorry, my friends tell me I have a bad habit of doing that."

She stood up straighter, but her eyes were still a bit unfocused. "Y-yeah, whatever. We're done for tonight." She walked past me, her pace unusually brisk. As she got to the door, she turned around and gave a hard stare. "But don't think I'm done with you yet. I will get the truth out of you." And with that, she stepped back, the door sliding shut automatically afterwards.

I stood there, perplexed. "What did I say to fluster her so…?"

**~X~**

Talia busted down Moira's door, the metal panel landing askew on the ground as she stepped over it, making her way over to a plush red couch in the corner that hadn't been there before. Moira stood up, a mischievous grin on her face as she picked up the panel and fixated it back into its magnetic slots. "So…how'd it go?"

Moira laughed as purple flashed behind her, turning around just in time to catch the clip board in her claw. "Tsk, changing while we still have a patient in the building? 'Tis a risky move, Talia."

The now human Talia scoffed as she played with one of her cream colored twintails, a pout on her face. "You're one to talk, _my Lady._ Isn't your Moira persona supposed to be a stoic hardass?"

The supposed kangaskhan shrugged. "Yeah, I am. What's your point?"

The audino turned human pointed at Moira accusingly from her sluggish position, her brown eyes burning. "Then what the hell was with that giggle? Or better yet, your attitude? 'Moira' would've threatened to crush him like a grape with the way he was answering us! You might as well have revealed your identity then and there!"

Moira made her way back over to her chair, a purple glow overtaking her as she sat down. Moira ceased to exist, a (what appeared to be) human woman taking her place. Violet blue hair cascaded around her slender form as she propped her legs on the table, a fox like grin spreading below her blizzard blue eyes. She paused, tension seeming to grip the air.

"…"

Tal righted herself on the couch, smoothing out her white nurse's dress in the process. She leaned in closer, the tension getting to her. "Well…why?"

The Lady giggled, the tinkle breaking the tension like a hammer as she knocked herself on the head. "I really don't know why."

Tal deflated back into the couch, pulling her hat down on top of her face as she groaned. "Arceus, I know why that kid annoys me now."

Viri giggled as she stood up and straightened her crimson pajamas. "He wasn't lying, you know. At least, that's what I believe."

Tal didn't move, but responded with a tired voice. "Yeah, I get that feeling too."

The still grinning woman moved toward the black iron door and opened it. She turned around and held her hands behind her back, a pleading look on her face. "By the way, I'm ordering you to escort our newest guild mate to the tower." She put a hand under her chin as she looked up in thought. "Also, show him the sights while you're at it."

Tal gave her a thumbs up, the hat still covering her face.

A devilish grin lit up Viri's face. "You know, Tal, boys are dense. Think of this as your first da- "She ducked as the quill Tal was previously holding sailed over her head, pinning itself into the wall in the room behind her. "I leave it to you then, Investigator Talia! 'Kay, thanks, bye!" Viri shut the door, leaving a heavily blushing, wrathful Talia behind.

**~X~**

Tal had woken me up that morning in a peculiar way. And of course, when I say peculiar, I mean violent. I had woken up with no bandages, slightly charred, in pain, and still a tiny fox. Thankfully, that blue lacrima thing was true to its functions.

I glared distastefully at her as we exited the Hospice's lobby. "Did you really have to shock me? A simple tap on the head or 'wake up, Leo!' would've worked just as well you know."

"Oh relax, I just hit you with a weak thunder wave. It's not like you were permanently paralyzed." The way she said it made it sound completely justified. "Besides," she shrugged, "I tried waking you up gently and all you did was-" She stopped midsentence, her face reddening slightly. "Brat," she huffed.

_~Flash_

_Talia opened the door to Leo's room, still quite miffed from Viri's taunts from the previous night. _

"_The nerve of that woman," she grumbled as she searched the bed stand for a candle. "As if I'd go for such a pokemon; what does she take me for: a shota…con?" She trailed off as she lit the candle with a minor flamethrower, being slightly taken aback by what she was seeing. On the bed was certainly not a zorua. It was a young man, her guess being around seventeen or eighteen years old. He was laying on his stomach, a black button down and slacks adorning his person. His ruby hair was messy, the little bit of excess wrought up in a ponytail of sorts with a light blue band. He was snoring peacefully, the end of his red tie stuck underneath his cheek._

_The awestruck audino set the candle back down on the bed stand, her mouth ajar from shock. "…Leo?"_

_The human grumbled in his sleep. "Five minutes, Rhea…I'll be…in five…" A soft snore trailed off his sentence. _

_Talia suddenly felt very awkward, Viri's words coming back and smacking her in the face like a hot iron. 'Boy…date…boy…date!' She slapped herself, knocking those thoughts away, but also unintentionally knocking her audino form away as well. But it was too late for her, as the still asleep Leo clasped his arms around her waist, dragging her into bed with him and burying his face into her modest chest, her own face drowning in crimson._

"_When did your breasts get smaller?" He mumbled._

_And that was the straw that broke the camerupt's back._

_~Flash End_

"…Tal?"

"Hm, what?"

"Where do we go from here?"

Indeed, we were standing in a rather large mosaic plaza, the only thing being there was a large wooden stage of sorts with several pokémon gathering around it. The sun was in the middle of the sky, so I guessed it was noon. It felt strange to me, being still slightly sleepy at that time; I never slept in that late before. I gave Tal a sideways glance. "You sure you hit me with just a thunderwave?"

I received no answer. What I did receive was a face full of dust, however, as the clearly pissed audino unleashed a surprising amount of speed as she sprinted toward the stage. Not wanting to be left behind, I followed her. That turned out to be a mistake though. As I entered the large crowd of pokémon several feet taller than me, I quickly found out how big of a mistake it was. I lost Tal and quickly became confused amongst the masses.

"Oi, watch where yer going!"

"Sorry!"

"You're going to get squashed like a grape, midget!"

_Again with the height thing?! _"Screw you too, assface!" Ah, the look on that abomasnow's face as he lost sight of me was priceless.

It wasn't too long before I found myself in front of the huge crowd with the lower evolved pokémon, one of which I happened to be already acquainted with. "That you, Lucy?" 'Twas purely speculation on my end; it could've been any other riolu. But once you've had your ass kicked by that certain woman, you never really forget her…or maybe I was just masochistic like that.

The emanation pokemon in question turned her head to me, her paws crossed as she gave me a cold glare. "You would be at this, wouldn't you?"

I wasn't taken aback in the slightest with her attitude. If she wasn't hitting me, it must've meant she hated me less. However, I was thrown slightly off base by her statement. "What do you mean?"

My confusion must've been genuinely conveyed, as she looked at me exasperatedly, as if I had just asked her how to breathe. "You mean you're here and don't know? Do you not remember that…" she paused here, finding the little stone tiles to be much more interesting than me, "fiasco yesterday?"

I smiled. "You mean the fiasco in which I got stabbed in the gut saving your life?" As if I wasn't going to rub that in after she used such bad manners.

I could hear her grinding her teeth as she gripped her paws tighter. "Tch!"

I was about to prod more, but a voice I'd rather not have heard interrupted me, sailing over and silencing the crowd.

"Citizens of the Citadel Proper, the Church of Arceus will punish the wicked, purge the abominations, and grant you peace of mind!"

I glared at the one eyed gallade, his sickly suave voice irritating me to no end. "So it's this asshole, eh?" That earned me a glare from Lucy. The kirlia that was next to me was more vocal in her anger though.

"How dare you talk that way about Father Mikal!" she whispered angrily. Judging by the sound of her voice, she was still fairly young.

I gave her the look I gave anybody that annoyed me within the first five seconds of a conversation: the dead eyes. "How funny that you think I give a damn." That shut her up real quick, making her shy away from me as she angrily pouted toward the stage. I heard a tiny laugh to my left, but all I saw when I looked was an even angrier Lucy. Thinking about that came second though, as Mikal's continuing speech picked up my attention.

His robes were splayed in the minor wind, his arms outstretched. "Believe in us and we shall bring down the hybrid terrorists that threaten our future! My children…let this abomination's execution serve as a lesson to those heretics who think they can steal our way of life!"

I scrunched my eyebrows together in confusion. Hybrids? Terrorists? Abominations? The context in which he was using them made him sound like he was doing us all a favor. I turned to Lucy, slightly bewildered. "An execution? In front of all these pokémon? He can't do that, can he?" She gave me no answer, her ruby eyes still locked on the stage. Thus, I did the same.

Mikal moved to the side, causing the entire audience to gasp; some in astonishment, but most in fright. I'm pretty sure mine was a mixture of both. There, bound and gagged on the stage, was a very familiar toxicroak. The ice shards from the previous battle were still embedded in his shoulder, not melted in the slightest. His purple skin was even more purple in spots, probably bruising. The fin/horn thing on his head was bent at an awkward angle, making my own head hurt from just looking at it. My memory from the previous day may have been hazy, but he sure as hell wasn't that beaten up when I lost consciousness. What caught my attention the most, however, was the noose tied between the pouch on his neck and his chin.

"_**After a certain number of times, those church freaks come in and take the unlucky bastard to the dead man's knot! I refuse to go out that way! I just can't!"**_

Vex's words rang in my head, causing my stomach to knot up. My claws unintentionally clenched, digging into the tile as I began to shake. Mikal kept ranting, but I was barely paying attention anymore. "He's…going to execute him publicly, isn't he."

I was whispering more to myself, but Lucy seemed to have heard me anyway. "Yeah," she said, still looking at the proceedings.

I shook harder as my claws attempted to mine the mosaic. My head started to pound profusely at this point, but I couldn't bring myself to care. "And we're just going to sit here and watch…?"

She shook her head. "There's nothing else we can do, it's how the system works." She looked at me, tilting her head slightly. "It's what he deserves, right? He nearly killed me and you both. Even a dark type like yourself should know how-"

"NOBODY DESERVES SUCH BARBARISM!" I yelled, my voice overtaking even Mikal's ranting.

Lucy stood wide-eyed, frozen in place. Before I knew it, it was just her and me, the rest of the mass of Pokémon backing up as silence fell. I was glaring at Lucy, breathing heavily. I rarely yelled, or got angry in general, but that? It was complete bullshit. "It's disgusting, it's sickening, it's inhumane, it's-"

"Well, we're not human, are we boy?"

My first thought when I felt that familiar pressure on my stomach and the air beneath my feet was the thought I'd find myself repeating throughout many of my days at the Citadel.

_Well, shit._

**~X~**

**I know, I know, boring chapter after a…how long has It been? A six month wait? Well…I'll let you guys in on a secret:**

**I actually know what I'm doing now. :D**

**And give it time, the whole human to pokemon to human stuff will be explained in time. Not everybody can do it, but most of the main cast will have that ability. Something to do with that "Hybrid" and "Terrorism" stuff that Mikal was ranting about. Trust me, I've got this.**

**Also, I'm probably going to go back and redo the second chapter, so be checking up on that from time to time.**

**So, I implore you all, leave a review to tell me how shitty this chapter was. I really wanna know what I can do better. Is the whole human thing to fantastical? Is Leo to gary stuish? Pls halp. :(**


	7. What a Goddamn Idiot

**Ripples of Consequence**

**Not much to say here except that I'm a pieace of shit. Moving on.**

**I do not own Pokemon or any affiliates.**

_Chapter Song: Bartholomew by The Silent Comedy_

**~X~**

Chapter Six: What a Goddamn Idiot

I really am an idiot, aren't I? At least, that's what I thought to myself as I landed on the stage. I rolled over back onto my feet almost effortlessly, a feat that shocked myself more than anything. Oddly enough, that kick didn't hurt at all. I wasn't even coughing! There was definately a heavy impact though. That pressure on my chest was proof enough of that. However, when Mikal jumped on the stage shortly after, I made it a point to forcibly start hacking up a lung. Thankfully, nobody noticed that transition. Well, almost nobody. Vex was looking at me as if he'd seen a ghost, his fearful gazed fully replaced by one of astonishment.

He looked down, his eyes wide. "Impossible..." he muttered.

I raised my head a bit at that. Just what did he mean by that, I wonder? However, I didn't get to think on it too long as Mikal's foot came crashing down on my head, holding me firmly in place. Again, even though I ended up cracking the wood, I hardly felt a thing. In fact, it wasn't even him keeping me down; I just simply didn't want to cause more of a stir. If I wanted, I could have easily slipped out of his hold and darted off, but that would only serve to paint me in an even worse light. It was getting exceedingly odd, yet I stayed put. I put myself in that situation, and I'd be damned if I didn't stick by my values.

My Arceus damned, itdiotic values.

Mikal raised his arm, causing his cloak to billow behind him as a breeze passed through. "Do you see, my bretheren! Do you see what these abominations bring? A dark rat! A small demon here to pilfer and steal away your belongings!" He put more pressure on my head as if punctuating his sentence. "He calls these dealings inhumane! Ha! As if we'd standardize ourselves to anything remotely humane!"

I gritted my teeth. He may have had me pinned down circumstantially, but his maddening dribble was getting ridiculous. "It's not about being humane, you asshat. It's about being a decent-"

"THIS IS WONDERFUL!"

My rebuttle was cut off by none other than Vex as he yelled out toward the sky, tears streaming down his face as he laughed. It wasn't exactly how you'd expect, however. His laugh full of gusto and relief; it was full of pure unadulterated joy. That in itself was slightly unnerving giving the circumstance. His laughing ceased as he looked toward us. More specifically, toward me.

"Oh thank Arceus. You're not dead! Nobody's dead!" He stood up as best he could with his arms bound behind his back. He staggered a bit, a purple glow overtaking him. There were audible gasps from the crowd, even one from Mikal himself as he reeled back, which gave me back some pseudo freedom. As the light died down, there was complete silence. In the toxicroak's place was a rather tall man. His black shoes were scuffed, his striped slacks were dirty and torn, and his dark blue jacket was all but torn to shreds. His bluish purple hair was stained with red and bared semblance to a mop, hardly fitting his proper demeanor. A smile lit up his tear stained, dirty face. "I'm so happy!"

Just as those words left his mouth, the noose around his neck started to glow blue as it was drawn up into the air, dragging the choking man up it. He kicked his feet as he was drawn up higher and higher, his smile still present as his muffled gurgles became quieter.

Horrified, I turned around, seeing Mikal encased in that same bluish glow, his arm extended. I felt my headache return ten fold as anger exploded within me. _This isn't right. There's no way this is right. I can't let it continue. I'll kill himi'llkillhimi'll-_

And before I knew it, I was being held down, this time by somebody much stronger than Mikal. I couldn't move even if I wanted to. Wait, did I want to? I honestly couldn't remember what I was doing. Why was my mouth bloody all of a sudden? Why was my face wet? Why was it getting so dark...?

**~X~**

Tal held Leo tightly, trying to get him to calm down. However, for one so tiny, he was certainly giving her a run for her money. When she felt him bite into her arm, she knew something was wrong. She placed more pressure around his neck, choking him out as safely as she could without making too much of a scene. When he finally stopped growling, his jaws let go of her arm as he weakly looked around, before finally lulling off. Tal hefted his small body under her arm and adjusted her officer's cap, letting out a despondent sigh as she looked around. The outcropping off the citadel proper was the only place she could get to in the short amount of time she had during the chaos. Luckily for her, it seemed like nobody noticed her intervention.

She looked down at the snoozing fox and shook her head. "Honestly, I leave for ten minutes to go pick up my officer's hat and you already get the church on your ass." She sighed as she watched Vex's lifeless body thump onto the stage, the crowd's usually zeal at such happenings ominously absent as they departed. "What a goddamn idiot."

**~X~**

The sickening thump brought her out of her shock. Lucy was, quite simply, confused. She hadn't averted her eyes during that affair. She saw the toxicroak turn into something else. She saw Father Mikal wrought the noose and drag the accused up to his death. More importantly, she saw the hat wearing Audino all but catch a ravenous zorua and disappear just as quickly. She was completely and utterly dumbfounded.

The kirlia next to her, however, was not as much of a forward thinker.

She clapped as the crowd dispersed, some eyeing her warily with their downcast looks. "Yay!" she cheered, her eyes sparkling with joy.

Even Lucy was perturbed at this. She edged away slowly, eyeing her neighbor just as warily as everybody else. "Claire...please don't tell me you're..."

The kirlia turned to her friend, her smile radiating. "Of course I'm happy! Father Mikal defeated one of the terrorists!" She pouted at Lucy, her attitude switching all too easily. "You should be happy too! Father saved you from that thing!"

Lucy held up a paw, concern mixing with annoyance toward her friend. "Claire, I told you, it wasn't Father Mikal that saved me. It was an Investigation Team."

Claire crossed her arms. "And those investigation teams are an arm of the church! Honestly, have you been paying attention to Mother Roth's lessons?"

Lucy sighed and grabbed the fanatical kirlia by the arm, leading her toward the path to downtown. "Whatever, let's just get out of here now."

She was met with resistance, however.

"Lucccccy, wait! I wanna go talk to Father Mikal!"

Lucy was past giving a damn at that poin. She pulled harder, essentially dragging her friend away from the scene. As Claire continued to make protests, Lucy couldn't help but mutter to herself. "Yeah, that's the problem."

**~X~**

**And that's all I've got for now. I'm sorry it's been so long and this is all you got, but life has been pretty busy lately. I got a job, moved to the UK, and have general responsibilities now. However, I am getting into the swing of things again and I feel that my writing has improved somewhat. **

**Chapters will be longer in the future when I can get around to working more. Until then, this'll probably be a good standard length, as paltry as that is. So bear with me for a bit! I have big plans for this story! As well as a prequel in the works!**

**Until then!**


	8. Shifting Phases

**Look at that; it's been 5 months.**

**Moving on.**

**~X~**

Chapter Seven: Shifting Phases

Do you know the feeling of falling when you sleep? Normally, it's something that wakes you up immediately, usually ending with your person flopping helplessly on the bed. However, there was no waking up from the falling sensation I was feeling. My chest was tight, my breathing ragged; it was an all around unpleasant feeling. However, I knew I was not conscious. The big key factor being that everything was white and I was decidingly human as I fell.

What was even stranger was the fact that there was no sign of falling; no wind, no movement, nothing. But I knew the ground was fast approaching and it scared me. Not the landing, but whatever was down there. It felt strained and sad. But most of all, it felt angry.

And just like that, the sensation was gone. The white was replaced with black, the air got muggy, and pressure seemed to press down from all around. I stood there, not really sure what any of this was about. The last thing I remember was the execution and my head hurting quite a bit. I still felt the faint taste of copper in my mouth as well. Or perhaps that was my imagination.

"...not fair..."

The sound of metal jingling against metal cut my musings short. For the life of me though, I couldn't see shit.

"...need to...stop..."

I could make out a faint sillouette in the darkness; something bound and gagged. For lack of better judgement, I approached.

"I...I can do it...I can..."

I heard something snap, and suddenly my vision blurred. Something reeled, and a strip of light shone through the darkness, hitting the sillouette. Just as soon as that happened, I began to fall again, my head going numb as I felt a warmth overtake me.

**~X~**

I could tell from the smell that we were back at the hospital. I hadn't gotten used to the antiseptic scent, so I crinkled my nose involuntarily. I was still sleepy though, so moving or opening my eyes were far from my mind. The thought of yawning briefly passed, but a familiar voice brought me to a standstill.

"I'm telling you, my lady, he's too unstable!"

Well, that didn't sound good. That was definitely Tal, but...

"All the more reason to watch him then, no?"

Okay, I know I've never heard that voice before, but at the same time, why did this "Lady" sound so familiar?

"Agh!" Tal sounded very exasperated; much more than she usually was. "You're impossible! He can't even control his shifting, how do you expect him to carry out an investigation?"

Shifting? What the hell did that mean? I perked my ears up as I tried to listen more intently. However, all I got was another pounding headache. I stifled a groan, my interest in eavesdropping outweighing my personal ailment.

"Well," said the Lady, "we'll let the Tower be the judge of that, now won't we?" I heard a door slide open and then close, followed by a drawn out sigh from Tal.

"That Arceus damned, carefree-"

I chose that moment to "wake up," not really wanting to impose longer than I had too. As I attempted to open my eyes, I wished I hadn't. Even if I wanted to, I couldn't stifle the pain induced groan as my head ached from who knows how many causes. Just what did I do to deserve it? I was fairly certain all my falls and blows insofar had caused no significant head trauma, (minus the trauma to my pride, that is), but trying to reason about it just made it worse. I tried to sit up, but a hand on my chest set me back down, another laying a cool pad across my forehead.

Wait...

My eyes shot open as I sat up completely upright, my head screaming as the ice pack flew across the room. That was hardly pressing at the moment, however. I was human again. I felt just the same, but I was in my original body. "Wha-" I attempted to croak out, but the same gentle touch pushed me back down again, replacing the ice pack once more. I blearily looked around, trying to see Tal. My eyes locked with hers, or at least, I think they did.

Of course, I should've been shocked. I mean, sitting over me with an exasperated scowl wasn't an audino, but a human nurse. I brought my hands to my face as I rubbed my eyes, not really processing what was going on anymore. I mean, I knew it was Tal. I didn't know how I knew, but I did. I opened my mouth to speak, but she immiediately shushed me, placing her index finger in front of my lips.

"We've got a lot to talk about, you liar."

**~X~**

Lawrence woke with a start, his senses screaming to move. He jumped up, bringing his claws up in a makeshift stance. Apparently, whatever was causing his flight or flight sense was not so threatening that it caused him to want to flee, which he briefly thought was odd; mainly because almost everything made him want to run from a fight. He scanned around their campsite, finding Saki in a similar position. She was staring off into the woods behind them, half a oran berry sticking out of her mouth. He was about to ask her what was wrong, but a dark blur cut him off.

A poochyena shot out of the woods toward Saki, it's fangs bared. The mienfoo hardly moved, side stepping the canine's lunge as she brought a chop down onto the back of its neck. A snap resounded throughout the woods, causing many a pidove and pidgey to fly out of their trees. The poochyena crumpled to the ground, unmoving. She looked over to him, waving as she shoved the rest of the berry in her mouth.

What bothered Lawrence the most wasn't the fact that his impomptu partner had just killed another pokemon, but the fact that it didn't bother him as much as it should've. In fact, he felt a little impressed and rather intimidated that she managed to do it in one shot. The thought of his double type weakness to her briefly crossed his mind before he turned his attention back toward the next opening in the woods. Something rusled in the bushes, before a scraggy waked out, it's hands up.

"I-I surrender!" It yelled, eyeing the now dead poochyena off to the side.

Lawrence lowered his guard, looking over to Saki to see what she wanted to do. All he saw was Saki running over to him as she yelled his name. He turned back, only to notice that the scraggy was running at him at an alarming rate. It slid on the ground, a faint glow around it's legs as it attempted to sweep Lawrence off his feet. He felt a pull at his stomach and a cold wind gusted through the woods as he jumped over the scraggy. It jumped up just in time to recieve the freezing gust, a chill running through its body as it began to move significantly slower.

Saki came up behind it, delivering an open, glowing palm directly to its back. The scraggy went rigid before it too crumpled to the ground. Saki dusted off her paws and reached into her satchel as she came up to Lawrence, offering him a cheri berry. "Here, eat this and then we'll-"

Lawrence doubled over, falling to the ground as he emptied his stomach of whatever berries he ate the night before. Saki stood there for a moment before realization dawned over her. She knelt down next to him, rubbing his back as he wretched. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to give you bad berries last night..."

The sneasel pushed her away as he fell back, his flight sense tingling now more than ever. "A-are you kidding me?" he yelled, tears pooling in his eyes. "You just killed them! And I...I...oh Arceus, I..."

Lawrence was no stranger to pokemon battles. He had watched the national league just like everybody else who didn't go on to be a pokemon trainer. However, those battles ended with fainting, not blood and broken vertebrae. He felt sick and dirty, like he was one of those underground trainers from the news that fought their pokemon to the death. He wanted to run, he wanted to go back home and hide under his covers, he wanted to just go back and have a castelicone with his friend and not worry about dying.

A thought struck him. Friends...

The green gem on his wrist glowed faintly as Saki stood back up and approached him again, understanding now that it wasn't berries that caused her partner's anguish. "I understand," she said, but not really understanding anything about him. She had heard the rumors of dark types, how they should be cold and unfeeling. If anything, the two pokemon that tried to mug them should've reinforced that stereotype for her. Yet here was a sneasel who she had found raving mad in her village crying and wretching over something he only played a minor part in. She honestly started to feel a little bad for dragging him with her all this way. She began to walk back the way they came, her eyes downcast. It always ended this way for her, even at home. She didn't know why she expected anything different.

Lawrence stood up, wiping the bilge from his mouth. "Wait," he said, "the town is the other way, right?" He wasn't happy about the way things turned out, but if he wanted to find his friend and sister, he'd need help. Whether he was comfortable or not, he needed to press on and he needed Saki's help for that. He put on a forced smile as she bounded back toward him, trying to match her renewed joy as they set out toward the Citadel once more.

"And I think I'll take that berry now, if it's all the same to you."

**~X~**

The two of them arrived at the Citadel proper a little after noon, the rest of their journey rather uneventful. They didn't talk much, but the silence wasn't as awkward as Lawrence thought it would be. It actually seemed to be pleasant dynamic the two had.

Saki stopped when the reached the center of the square and looked at the empty stage, her brow furrowed. Many things bothered her: where were all the pokemon? Why was there such an ominous feeling in the air? She didn't know how, but she was fairly certain something disturbing happened not too long ago.

Lawrence looked at the stage and back to her. "Is something the matter?" This was the first time he had seen her frown outside of a combat situation. Even in the short amount of time he'd known her, he thought it felt out of place on her expression.

Saki shook her head. "No, I just don't like this place." She looked up and tilted her head in confusion at the overcast sky. "Wasn't it sunny just before we got here?"

Lawrence shrugged. "Weather changes all the time."

"I don't like it." She stated.

He sighed. "I'm sure you don't."

The two continued on their way, Lawrence trying to match Saki's quickening pace as they made their way over to the looming tower to the north of the square.

The walk itself up to the tower was rather pleasant compared to the stifling aura from the plaza. Mosaic stepping stones lined the path, each with a different pokemon inscribed on them. Hand rails were on either side, whether to provide balance or to prevent pokemon from falling off the edges into the progressively deeper crevices on either side nobody knew.

Lawrence and Saki reached the top, the narrow path opening up to another wide plaza of sorts. They paid no mind to the pillars or the warmth beneath their feet. They looked at each other, both nodding in affirmation. From what Saki had told Lawrence, three trials awaited beyond the archway of the tower. They steeled themselves before stepping into the darkness, a strange feeling coming over both of them as they quickened their pace.

**~X~**

Calling me a liar may have been stretching it. I mean, Talia definitely wasn't wrong, but I technically never lied. I tried to make that point, but when I opened my mouth for a rebuttal, my screaming brain decided to remind me it was still there. I curled up, turning on my side toward Tal. I didn't want her to think I was going to be unreasonable, regardless of whatever sarcastic remarks I would or would not make. "Just give me something to make this..." I clenched my teeth together as my head pounded harder, allowing the pain to run it's course a bit, "..go away, and I'll tell you whatever you want."

She looked at me, debating whether or not I was telling the truth, I assumed. She crossed her legs as she leaned back in her chair, tossing a blue stone bound to a leather strap toward me. "Here," she said, "it fell off when you had your episode.

I gingerly picked it up, a cool sensation washing over me as my headache immediately died down. I sighed in relief as I sat up and tied the lacrima around my neck again. I was beginning to love the little stone. I turned toward Tal, crossing my legs as I noticed my shirt was black instead of white like before. "You changed my shirt?"

"No."

She had her arms crossed, her brown eyes glaring daggers at me. I guessed that she wasn't going to answer any of my questions until I answered hers, so I decided to get the ball rolling. "Well, ya got me. I have no idea what's going on." She looked like she was about to refute me, but I held my hand up. "Wait," I said, "That doesn't mean I won't skirt around any details. Since you're no normal audino," I made a gesture toward her person to accentuate the point, "maybe none of my truths will sound as crazy."

And so I told her everything: how I was really from a Castelia City, just not the one she referred to as the Central Capital; how I and two of my friends were sent here from a world comprised entirely of humans and pokemon by a crazy human cresselia; how I woke up only to be accosted by a type racist riolu and all that followed. "And now you and I are here and I really don't understand this whole 'shifting' business you were on about."

Talia idly played twirled one of her long twintails, the line of hair wrapping around her finger with practiced ease as she looked at me critically. She let her hands drop and then sighed. "You said you woke up on a cliff overlooking cherry blossom trees, right?"

I nodded, albeit a bit thrown off that that's where she was starting her questioning.

She nodded and crossed her arms again. "I see, that actually makes sense." I guess my confused look was enough, because she started to explain. "Those woods aren't natural," she stated. "It doesn't matter how many investigation teams we send out, they either get turned around or never come back. It is, by all accounts, one of the worst mystery dungeons in our world."

"Mystery dungeons?" I asked.

"Areas of concentrated aura and massive lacrima deposits. They're ever changing, but some are more dangerous than others." She looked at me, a kinder expression on her face. "You actually traversed one for a time; the Charcoal Woods lead to where you and Team Shinzu had your stand off with Vex." I wanted to ask more, but a purple glow overtook her, making me avert my gaze. When I looked back, Tal was an audino again, an officer cap with a purple stone embedded in it taking the place of her nurses cap. She hopped out of her chair and looked back to me. "Get up," she said, "I've been ordered to conscript you. We're going to the tower."

"Oh yes," I drawled, "I'll just walk out there like this," I held up my hands as I got up and spun around, "I totally won't get drawn and quar-"

The tiny audino cut me off by socking me in the stomach, causing me to double over and cough. She pressed her hand against my head, and her cap glowed. I wanted to curse at her, but that glow quickly transferred to me. Before I knew it, I was a tiny fox again.

I coughed a bit more before looking up at the smug audino. "H-how did you do that?"

I swear if her grin turned any more smug, I'd call it shit eating. "I had my suspicions when you said you were seventeen, but I honestly thought you were just an idiot. Turns out, I wasn't very far off." She opened the door and turned around, gesturing me to follow. "I didn't do anything, brat. You're a hybrid, just like the rest of us. I just gave you a little push. Now let's go; I'm interested to see how you get through the trials now."

Well, that was just rude, now wasn't it?

**~X~**

**And that seems like a good place to leave off. I've recently gotten back into a writing kick, so hopefully there won't be as long of a wait next time. Thanks to BroadBlueSky for helping me get back some motivation by talking PMD with me.**

**Also, I neglected to mention this a while back, but the cover art was done by the wonderful Chardove on Deviantart and Tumblr. She's also drawn up to concepts of Sneasel Lawrence, Hybrid Leo, and Human Agitha a while back, so you may find those in with her as well.**

**And speaking of Agitha, we'll finally be seeing her and the inside of the Tower. Good times abound. Tell me if this was complete shit, yeah? Reviews are nice, constructive or otherwise.**


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